Homesteader

I did a copy/paste from a Milwaukee newspaper. Below is the ruling in PDF format.    

supreme_ruling_masks.pdf

Today, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin AGAIN ruled against the governor's mask mandate. The state statute says that the governor can only impose emergency measures for 60 days. Period. Every 60 days after the first ruling, he reissued the mandate over the legislature's lawful right to reopen the state. After the second time the governor overrode the STATE SUPREME COURT, the court smacked him really hard this time. They don't appreciate a governor trying to do an end-around their rulings. Hopefully, this governor is a one-and-out one. Even though we are allowed to removed our masks in public now, most of us won't. It was just the fact that our governor felt he was above the law when it came to our State's statutes. 

MADISON - The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked Democratic Gov. Tony Evers from issuing any new public health emergency orders to mandate face masks without the approval of the Republican-controlled state Legislature.   

In a 4-3 decision, conservative justices in the majority declared the statewide mask mandate invalid and ruled Evers exceeded his authority in issuing multiple emergency declarations over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Evers used the emergency orders to require face coverings be worn indoors statewide after lawmakers opted not to.

"The question in this case is not whether the Governor acted wisely; it is whether he acted lawfully. We conclude he did not," Justice Brian Hagedorn, writing for the conservative majority, said.

State law says governors may issue health emergencies for 60 days at which point the Legislature must approve an extension. Evers has argued he may issue new emergencies without their approval because the pandemic's threat has changed, similar to emergency declarations over separate flooding events in the same river.

Hagedorn said state law governing public health emergencies "must be read to forbid the governor from proclaiming repeated states of emergency for the same enabling condition absent legislative approval."

12 hours ago, Littlesister said:

Haven't been keeping up on the corona virus much. Just to much going on.

Me too. There is so much disinformation and politics wrapped up into it that I believe very little anymore.  I asked a few questions of my Dr. of Chiro yesterday and really got an earful.    His wife, also a Doctor, was voted onto the County Health Board. She was so frustrated and so were the local citizens. It's one of the larger counties in the State. My doctor mentioned that his friend, who owns a large testing lab in another state, received a letter from the CDC stating that they were to lower their testing threshold. The PCR process uses the extraction method. Then I got lost when he went medical terminology on me, but they spin the sample at 48-50 cycles to get the sample. Three weeks into January, the govt sent the lab owner a letter telling him to decrease the sample spin cycle to 28-29. That's where it should have been in the beginning for viruses, he said. It will be interesting to see how the 'positives' multiply in the weeks and months to come.  

I've heard that before but not from a doctor friend.

On my worst days when everything seems to be falling apart, I can be thankful that I'm not a helmsman. 

Mom's hospital bed arrived yesterday from Hospice.  They have so many choices on mattresses these days. Mom was really set against it but slept all night and awoke refreshed. I was always praying every time she tried to enter and exit our high bed. DH had built a platform for her to use, but I was always afraid she would forget and take a big tumble (even though it was only 3" high  )  Now we can raise the head of her bed so she can breath better and raise the knees so that she doesn't slide down off her pillows. I didn't realize how much it was stressing me every day, especially counting SEVEN pillows that I pulled off the older queen bed. 

I finally made a trip to Walmart yesterday to buy the twin bedding. I think I've been in there about 3 times in the last year. I'm not interested in bringing home everyone's germs to a 93 y.o. I've been able to purchase almost everything locally and try to help the family-owned businesses. I was surprised at the lack of inventory at Walmart for twin bedding. It's not that all the kids are going back to college right now.      I finally had to order the flannel sheets off the internet. I wasn't going to pay $80-$120 for a set of sheets from Kohl's. No wonder they're about bankrupt. Yes, their products are high quality and I really like them, but mama isn't going to last another 20 years, and the bed will go back to Hospice after she dies.

I did walk through the canning section at Walmart and found the last two boxes of wide mouth canning lids. I think they were around $3.50 a box. I considered those little gems the height of my outing yesterday.  

I've always been curious about retired German Shepherd military/police dogs. I saw a piece about them about 10 (?) years ago? They were available to purchase from somewhere in TX or OK. When DH croaks, one of these trained dogs will be welcome in my home as protector and companion. 

42 minutes ago, Ambergris said:

Mr. Cuomo has faced scrutiny for months over his policies related to nursing homes. The question of how many nursing home residents had died — both in the facilities and after being treated at hospitals — became a political issue for Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, as he came under criticism from both Democrats in Albany and from national Republicans, including former President Donald J. Trump.

And, according to CNN, The USNS Comfort was deployed to New York, the epicenter of the virus outbreak in the United States, to free up capacity in the city's civilian hospitals so that they can focus on treating coronavirus patients. They had 22 patients with a capacity of 1,000 on the military ship.   

.... or if you want surgeries in the future, you have to be vaxxed?     This will never end in a civil manner. 

2 hours ago, Mother said:

I'm wondering if perhaps the florist shops are opened because they are lumped together with nurseries and greenhouses and the governments believe people are going to need to garden because of the worsening economy. 

People also need the florist shops for funerals. I know it's dreadful, but when we can't have funerals, at least the family can receive flowers in time for the church services. 

38 minutes ago, Littlesister said:

I also called my CPA and they are going to give it till Friday. If it doesn't move he is going to help me through the next steps to take. 

When we used to be working overseas at tax time, our CPA secured an extension for us with the IRS. The first deadline was in July and the final drop-dead deadline was October of the same year. There would be interest on anything owed, but it kept our blood pressure under control. 

This morning was consumed with getting mama to take some nitro for her chest pains. She wanted me to Google signs of heart attacks. She already knows all of them but wanted them reread to her. She is a medical encyclopedia. She scoffs at my lack of medical symptom knowledge. Sometimes people live out their symptoms if they dwell on them too long.    The last place I want to be right now is at an ER. I feel our medical world has basically failed my family and church. So many of my friends and church leadership have died due to lack of medical intervention due to paranoia at the local hospitals/clinics. None of it was covid.  I put little faith in them anymore, which is probably as it should be. My childhood was without clinic appts. I barely knew our doctor's name. If it wasn't broke, it didn't need fixing. 

We've been laying a new vinyl plank floor in the lower level. It's finally coming together after the flood two years ago. If I hadn't asked for three new window openings through the 12" concrete block walls, we would have been finished by now.    The only down side is the Sandhill Cranes in the summertime. The father gets mad if there isn't enough corn near the oak stump. He comes up to the window and pecks in it. We had to take off the screens last year. Then the father crane disappeared.   The rest of the family was very calm throughout the rest of the summer. Our friends who run the crane foundation said the family will be back with a new father this year. 

Today, we go and dig the seed-starting shelves and lighting out of the storage unit my mom is renting. Many of the seeds have to be started within the next several weeks. It was the huge motivator to get the floor/walls finished around the unit. It will remain in place for about 4 months, AND I WANT TO ENTERTAIN FRIENDS ONCE AGAIN AT MY HOUSE.  I want the remodeling project finished.     Besides, DH goes in for extensive corrective surgery on his thumb and will be out of commission for 6-8 weeks.  

According to the CDC report released today, almost 80% of those who were hospitlized, on ventilators, or died from covid were either overweight or obese. The obese number was over 50%. News came through

CNBC.com.  There are a lot more reasons to stay healthy that we only discovering. 

I came in at 24 in December on a blood test. It's hard getting enough sunshine during the winter, which is one reason solar power is not viable in Wisconsin.    

I canned up two bags of apples last week into applesauce. Mama can handle applesauce when I don't have gravy for her 'dry' foods. DH loves applesauce inside of flour, sugar, and spices (cakes).   

I have to make room in the freezer for new strawberry harvest, so canned up some strawberry, raspberry, rhubarb jam. We'll have a taste this morning from the leftover pint. Mama always loves anything homemade.    DH will eat anything. 

I finally got around to picking the chicken carcass and making broth. We ended up with 10 pints of strong broth. It's great for soups, stews, and making gravy so mama can swallow dry meats. I'm finding she like gravy on almost everything.    Except for her pies, then it's ice cream or whipped topping.   

Johns Hopkins’ Dr. Mark Makary, writing recently in the Wall Street Journal, concludes that the welcome collapse in virus cases, which began in January, cannot be attributed solely to the end of holiday festivities or the start-up of vaccines. He says it also suggests that the medical community is vastly underestimating the number of people in the country who have contracted the virus, are asymptomatic, and who have developed immunities.   Makary thinks, assessing the data, that "The country is racing toward an extremely low level of infection."  He concludes that the U.S. is nearing "herd immunity" and that "COVID will be mostly gone by April, allowing Americans to resume normal life."  

Youyang Gu, a data scientist whose model has proved the most accurate forecaster of COVID deaths, predicts we will reach herd immunity (or "normality," as his team now calls it) by June/July. Not as soon as April, but soon. 

None of these forecasters suggests we should drop all precautions. Indeed, progress may require continued mask-wearing and social-distancing for the next few months. But by early summer, we can resume our pre-COVID lives. 

I volunteered at a temporary food pantry this week. It was lots of fun and I met many wonderful people at the church that was sponsoring the give-away. The teens were so much fun to tease, and they took it like champs. There were lots of left-overs that couldn't be forwarded to a 'real food pantry' because the big boxes were either opened or the food was perishable.

My SIL filled up her arms, walked to my car after distribution, and filled the back of my little trunk. I have apples, potatoes, lots of frozen convenience meats, and too many bags of chips/cookies. I'm not a chip/cookie person so will dole out those, with the ice cream cups, to mom and DH. They love sugar and salt. 

I separated out two boxes and took them over to an elderly couple next door. It was good to check up on them and give them some extra food that their little grandson also likes. I think I'll start once-a-month volunteering at that church food pantry. The fellowship was priceless.  

54 minutes ago, Annarchy said:

Need to re-arrange my office... again....

Having company keeps your housecleaning toes on the move.  I like company in the 8 months that aren't arctic.  It makes me pick-up our little 'projects' around the house. 

I was shocked to hear that he had passed when I came online this morning. I have been rooting for you guys all along, especially as I deal with my mom on Hospice.   Take your time with grieving. Step-by-step as you sort through emotion,s and memories of DH everywhere you turn. Because of your medical background, you kept him going so much longer than any one else. We've ended up with a medical system that falls so short for those who have long-term care needs. You are a champ to us and a wonderful example of the love of a woman for her husband. 

I'm guessing that you guys supplied power to the South this week during their storms?  Most of the grid is tied together throughout the country. I'm not sure about CA though. I know that our local power plant does NOT provide us power. Strange but true.  

My mom even remembers your local town as she grew up in D.M. 

A rolling blackout in IOWA????  

8 hours ago, Dee said:

Yep, we're to be getting -20 temps. like your brother, tomorrow.  We usually know what's on its way by watching the weather channel and seeing what's west of us.  Next week when it hits the 30's it will be like a cool summer day.  Yes, it's true .  

And ..... you are always so kind, generous, and thoughtful to pass your nastiness our way.   

We still haven't topped that record three years ago. It was -36 F. It took out half of my orchard trees, which had only been planted 1.5 years.    If this keeps up, I'll die of old age before I get a bite of those apples.  

On 2/9/2021 at 9:44 AM, Mother said:

I also grind/powder (in my coffee/spice grinder or blender) the dried veggies with dried onions, peppers, celery, spices, and sometimes powdered bullion to make a quick soup to have when we travel or when I don't feel well.  It's not exactly instant but good none the less and the powdered base makes a good seasoning for other foods as well.  I usually boil water, put it in a thermos with the powdered veggies and in an hour or three it's a nice creamy soup to drink.  The amounts really do vary with the type of veggie but I use 1-2 tablespoon of veggie powder to a cup of water.   I've used a lot of different veggies that way and even have used cooked and dehydrated legumes to make a sort of instant chili out of.  Pureed dried Tomatoes rehydrate fast and make a good cup-a-soup.  The time is really dependent on what the ingredients are. Some can even be done in the microwave in minutes. 

I have several gallons of dried, sliced, tomatoes. I generally forget to toss them into tomato-based soups on the stove. Can I just grind them and start adding them as a thickener? My mom is VERY picky about anything floating in a soup that she can't identify.